At the Dighton High School faculty meeting, budget cuts are announced by the principal, Ms. Burns. Budgetary cutbacks have not been a reality that this particular school district has had to deal with in the past. Several of the athletic programs are being cut back and some sports teams, such as basketball and tennis, are facing complete elimination. There have also been cutbacks in afterschool programs, guidance programs, music courses, electives and the arts department. Mr. Racket, athletic director at Dighton High School, is particularly incensed at this news. He stands up and points at Ms. Booker, head librarian. "Why don't we close the library? Nobody uses it! What good is it? Why is the library always immune when the cuts come along? I know for a fact that my kids don't use it. They use the Internet at home, or the town library if necessary! I wonder how many faculty members have even been inside the library this year or sent their classes there?" There is some loud support from a good portion of the faculty, particularly those whose jobs and/or programs have now been threatened by these cuts. Principal Burns tries to quell the disturbance and the lopsided support for the popular athletic director. She suggests that while the budget has not been finalized, it is due in the superintendent's office by the end of the month. She welcomes any further comments and promises one additional faculty meeting before the budget is finalized.

Ms. Booker is mortified, but realizes that many of the faculty members are virtual strangers. She sees only a small minority of history teachers and science teachers who regularly have their students work on reports, access the databases, and learn about Internet search methods. Dismayed by the prospect of the student body being denied access to a library, she realizes that she needs to develop a strategy in how to best communicate with the faculty, administration, and Mr. Racket about the services that the library provides, its educational mission and its important role in the school--in effect, to launch a massive public relations campaign to promote the library and, in future, maintain her own budget, resources and job from any future threats.

With knowledge of the Shannon-Weaver Model of Communication, Ms. Booker's first step is to develop and present to Principal Burns a strategic plan designed to facilitate better communication with the administration. The plan calls for opening the channels of communication with biweekly briefings, emails, memos, on the current operations of the library, furnishing statistics on the academic benefits of media centers in high schools, developing a website to promote the library's resources and inviting regular visits by Principal Burns to become more familiar with the center, its mission and daily activities. Also very critical in this communication process is the component of feedback from faculty and administration which will assist the School Media Specialist in evaluating the effectiveness of programs.

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